Missouri K-12 Email Security Intelligence:
DNS Authentication Profiling of 567 School District LEAs

Lokentra Research Team
Lokentra U.S. Email Security Index (ESI) — State Intelligence Series
April 22, 2026
research@monitorworkspace.com • monitorworkspace.com/scorecard

Abstract

We present DNS email security profiling for 567 K-12 LEAs in Missouri, of which 546 have active domains (96.3% coverage). Domains were scored on the Lokentra 100-point Email Security Index (ESI) rubric (SPF 30 pts + DKIM 30 pts + DMARC 40 pts). Missouri K-12 districts achieve an average ESI score of 50.7/100, with 30.0% earning Grade A or B (strong posture) and 31.1% receiving Grade F (minimal authentication). Only 56.4% have any DMARC record, and just 29.9% have DMARC at an enforcement level (quarantine or reject) — leaving 43.6% of districts fully vulnerable to email domain spoofing. This report provides entity-level data for all 546 scored domains including provider classification, authentication status, and ESI score, sourced from NCES CCD 2024-2025 and live DNS resolution conducted April 22, 2026.

Keywords: Missouri, K-12 email security, DMARC, SPF, school district cybersecurity, DNS authentication, Google Workspace, education technology

1. Dataset Overview

Table 1. Missouri K-12 Dataset Summary
MetricValue
Total K-12 LEAs in state567
Regular school districts518
Charter LEAs39
Other LEA types (state-operated, regional, etc.)10
LEAs with active internet domain546 (96.3%)
Domains DNS-profiled546
Data freshness (NCES CCD)2024-2025 school year
DNS scan dateApril 22, 2026

2. The Human Impact: Populations at Risk

To estimate human exposure, NCES national averages are applied to CCD 2024-2025 operational school counts: 381 students per school, 51 staff per school, and 2 parents or guardians per student. Missouri K-12 districts collectively operate approximately 2,450 schools.

Table 2. Estimated Population Exposure from K-12 Email Security Gaps — Missouri
PopulationTotal in DatasetAt Risk (No DMARC, 43.6%)Critically Exposed (Grade F, 31.1%)
Students933,450406,984290,302
Parents and guardians1,866,900813,968580,605
Staff and educators124,95054,47838,859
Total people2,925,3001,275,430909,768

Estimates based on NCES national averages. Individual district enrollment data can be linked via NCES LEAID for precise counts.

3. Authentication Findings

3.1 Protocol Adoption

Table 3. Email Authentication Protocol Adoption — Missouri K-12
ProtocolMissouriNational K-12 (ESI)vs. National
SPF (any configuration)77.5%79.7%-2.2pp
DKIM (key published)59.2%59.6%-0.4pp
DMARC (any policy)56.4%55.5%+0.9pp
DMARC at enforcement (quarantine/reject)29.9%~21.0%+8.9pp
DMARC at reject (full enforcement)8.4%~12.2%-3.8pp
No MX records (not receiving email)9.2%~10.0%-0.8pp

3.2 ESI Grade Distribution

Table 4. ESI Score Grade Distribution — Missouri K-12
GradeScoreDistrictsShareInterpretation
A90–100499.0%Full enforcement
B70–8911521.1%Strong posture
C50–6915828.9%Partial protection
D30–49549.9%Weak configuration
F0–2917031.1%Minimal/no authentication
Average score50.7 / 100

3.3 Email Provider Distribution

Table 5. Email Provider Distribution — Missouri K-12 (top providers)
ProviderDistrictsShare
Google Workspace43178.9%
Microsoft 365305.5%
Proofpoint50.9%
Barracuda40.7%
GoDaddy40.7%
Mimecast20.4%

4. District-Level Data

4.1 Top Performing Districts (Best ESI Scores)

Table 6. Top 15 Missouri K-12 Districts by ESI Score
DistrictDomainCountyProviderSPFDKIMDMARC PolicyScoreGrade
DIVISION OF YOUTH SERVICE dss.mo.gov Cole County Proofpoint ✓ ✓ reject 100 A
CARL JUNCTION R-I cjr1.org Jasper County Microsoft 365 ✓ ✓ reject 100 A
CRAWFORD CO. R-II ccr2.org Crawford County Google Workspace ✓ ✓ reject 100 A
HARRISONVILLE R-IX harrisonvilleschools.org Cass County Google Workspace ✓ ✓ reject 100 A
MALDEN R-I maldenmoschools.org Dunklin County Google Workspace ✓ ✓ reject 100 A
NEOSHO SCHOOL DISTRICT neoshosd.org Newton County Google Workspace ✓ ✓ reject 100 A
NORMANDY SCHOOLS COLLABORATIVE normandysc.org St. Louis County Google Workspace ✓ ✓ reject 100 A
MORGAN CO. R-II versaillestigers.org Morgan County Google Workspace ✓ ✓ reject 100 A
WARSAW R-IX warsawk12.org Benton County Google Workspace ✓ ✓ reject 100 A
FRONTIER SCHOOLS frontierschools.org Jackson County Google Workspace ✓ ✓ reject 95 A
EWING MARION KAUFFMAN SCHOOL kauffmanschool.org Jackson County Microsoft 365 ✓ ✓ reject 95 A
ARCADIA VALLEY R-II avr2.org Iron County Google Workspace ✓ ✓ reject 95 A
SCOTT CO. R-IV kellyhawks.org Scott County Google Workspace ✓ ✓ reject 95 A
CRAWFORD CO. R-I warhawks.k12.mo.us Crawford County Google Workspace ✓ ✓ reject 95 A
BRANSON R-IV branson.k12.mo.us Taney County Google Workspace ✓ ✓ reject 95 A

4.2 Districts Most in Need of Improvement (Lowest ESI Scores)

Table 7. Bottom 15 Missouri K-12 Districts by ESI Score
DistrictDomainCountyProviderSPFDKIMDMARC PolicyScoreGrade
GORDON PARKS ELEM. gordonparks.org Jackson County GoDaddy ✗ ✗ — 0 F
ALLEN VILLAGE allenvillageschool.com Jackson County Google Workspace ✗ ✗ — 0 F
MO VIRTUAL INSTRUCTION PROGRAM mocap.mo.gov Cole County — ✗ ✗ — 0 F
HOPE LEADERSHIP ACADEMY hlakc.org Jackson County Google Workspace ✗ ✗ — 0 F
KANSAS CITY GIRLS PREP ACADEMY kcgpa.org Jackson County Google Workspace ✗ ✗ — 0 F
BEVIER C-4 bevierschools.com Macon County — ✗ ✗ — 0 F
BAYLESS baylessk12.org St. Louis County — ✗ ✗ — 0 F
BELTON 124 beltonschools.org Cass County — ✗ ✗ — 0 F
BRONAUGH R-VII bronaughschools.net Vernon County — ✗ ✗ — 0 F
DALLAS CO. R-I bisonpride.us Dallas County Google Workspace ✗ ✗ — 0 F
CALLAO C-8 callaoc8.com Macon County Google Workspace ✗ ✗ — 0 F
BUTLER R-V butlerr5.org Bates County — ✗ ✗ — 0 F
CAMERON R-I cameron.k12.mo.us Clinton County — ✗ ✗ — 0 F
NELL HOLCOMB R-IV nellholcomb.k12.mo.us Cape Girardeau County — ✗ ✗ — 0 F
CENTERVILLE R-I ces.k12.mo.us Reynolds County Google Workspace ✗ ✗ — 0 F

4.3 County-Level Summary (Top 10 Counties by District Count)

Table 8. Missouri County Distribution
CountyDistrictsWebsite Coverage
Jackson County32100.0%
St. Louis County24100.0%
St. Louis city2085.0%
Jefferson County1291.7%
Cass County10100.0%
Franklin County10100.0%
Greene County887.5%
Cole County887.5%
Pemiscot County8100.0%
Caldwell County8100.0%

5. Policy Implications

These findings identify specific, actionable gaps in Missouri's K-12 email security posture. The 43.6% DMARC gap represents districts that can be impersonated by any sender, enabling phishing campaigns targeting parents, students, and educators with no authentication failure. Key observations:

6. Data Availability

The full Missouri K-12 dataset — 567 entities with NCES CCD enrichment (phone, address, grade span, school count, LEAID) and DNS authentication profiles — is available as part of the Lokentra ESI State Pack.

Table 9. Licensing Tiers
TierScopeSuggested Use
State Pack: MissouriAll 567 K-12 LEAs, full DNS profile + CCD enrichmentRegional studies, state policy, outreach
K-12 NationalAll 50 states, 20,021+ K-12 LEAsNational K-12 cybersecurity research
Full Registry801,359+ entities across all sectorsComprehensive multi-sector research
API + UpdatesQuarterly re-scan, REST APILongitudinal studies, live dashboards

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Citation: Lokentra Research Team (2026). Missouri K-12 Email Security Intelligence: DNS Authentication Profiling of 567 School District LEAs. Lokentra U.S. Email Security Index (ESI) — State Intelligence Series. https://lokentra-site.web.app/research/states/mo-k12-paper.html

Data sources: NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-2025; DNS records resolved via Google Public DNS (8.8.8.8) and Cloudflare (1.1.1.1). All entity data derived from publicly accessible government registries.

National baseline figures from Lokentra U.S. Education Sector Email Security Intelligence Dataset (March 2026). See education-dataset-paper.html for full methodology.